HapBird

GREAT story! Thanks for sharing it. I can relate! Dam those fitting rooms anyway... at least that's what I used to think. Now they're no big deal.

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Phil Darby / LAP RNY Dr. Callery 09/27/04........|Max:280+|Min:±155|Now:±175|

HapBird

Thanks for posting this, Baron - I could almost write a book about how my life has changed over the past year and a half. I am SO much happier, content, peaceful, cheerful, just generally glad to be alive, in contrast with the fat blob I was, depressed, angry, self-loathing, pessimistic, and lazily letting myself believe my life was on its last legs and there was nothing I could do about it.

Today I was in the grocery store for my weekly shopping, and realized it just felt good to be pushing a cart around looking like a normal person for a change. No more fears about being seen as a glutton stocking up for binges; no sense of embarrassment in the candy aisle (I was passing through, not buying). I used to feel utterly self-conscious in the grocery store for fear someone would make a rude comment on what I was buying. Same thing in clothing stores - once I went to an outlet store in search of new pants, and was too embarrassed to ask for help - I didn't want to admit to another human being that I needed size 48 trousers - so I slunk around the shop for a few minutes until it dawned on me as I searched the sizes offered THAT THEY DIDN'T CARRY ANYTHING LARGE ENOUGH FOR ME!!!!! I crept out of the shop hoping nobody would notice the hulk out of place in a thin-man's store!

Nowadays, I can also fail to find things that fit - I'm amazed at how many stores don't carry sizes SMALL ENOUGH!!! I'm much happier being disappointed by a failed shopping trip for this reason than for the old one. The fact that so many stores have nothing in size 'small' or that their 'mediums' are huge on me, points out that the average size person is getting bigger and bigger. I'm under-average size-wise for the first time in my life!!!!! (I was thin for a few years in the mid-1970s, but sizes were smaller then.)

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Here's a list of

My Top 100 Reasons for Wanting Gastric Bypass Surgery

OK, so there aren't 100 (yet). There (probably) will be!

I want to…/I’d like to be able to…


1. Avoid developing heart disease, stroke, diabetes -> This probably will never be “DONE” for sure, but I am on the right track for the first time.
2. Be more comfortable exercising, doing housework -> DONE!
3. Cut down back pain, joint pain -> DONE!
4. Decrease need for asthma medications and improve or eliminate chronic asthmatic cough -> DONE! (Mostly – still have the cough, but it’s a lot better.)
5. Develop a positive body image, enjoy the emotional benefits of same -> DONE!
6. Develop substitute activities for eating - ONGOING...
7. Discover the joy of using up the notches on my belt -> DONE!
8. Eat less and be happy about it -> DONE!
9. Eliminate a cause of depression -> DONE!
10. Have more energy -> DONE!
11. Lower blood pressure -> DONE!
12. Prolong life, improve quality of it -> Probably DONE – I might not have even lived this long if I hadn’t had the surgery! Quality of life definitely has improved.
13. Be better prepared to care for my partner in case of debilitating illness -> DONE!
14. Have relief from bodily and emotional discomfort -> DONE!
15. Wear clothing with no “X”s in the size label -> DONE! (Except the BOYS size XL shirts I bought!!!)
16. Fit into a restaurant booth; and not be self-conscious about how much I’m eating -> DONE!
17. Fit into a seat in coach section of an airplane; not have to buy two tickets -> DONE!
18. Get into and out of my car without groaning -> DONE!
19. Walk a 15 minute mile; and do it frequently -> DONE! I also exercise regularly on my elliptical Nordic Track machine, and actually enjoy doing it. Have been on regular every-other-day schedule for a year now! Amazing!
20. Cross my legs when sitting -> DONE!
21. Sleep without a CPAP machine (aka Darth Vader mask) -> DONE!
22. Lie on my back and have my hands meet comfortably in the middle over my stomach -> DONE!
23. Stop taking acid controller pills every day - DONE!
24. Get through a turnstile without squeezing and wondering if I’ll make it through -> DONE!
25. Fit into the smaller size clothes I’ve been hoarding for the elusive day I’d find a diet that’d work! -> DONE!
26. Stop wearing out the inside leg of my trousers where my legs rub together when I walk -> DONE!
27. Go to the beach – and not stay fully clothed the whole time! -> NOT DONE – I’m now self-conscious about my melted candle look. Oh, well.
28. Care for myself as I age – DONE, to some extent surely.
29. Get up from kneeling or crouching position without aid of tables, counters, etc. to get grip to hoist myself up (my legs alone can’t handle pushing up that much weight) - DONE!
30. Look in the mirror without being disgusted ‡ DONE!!!
31. Pick things up off floor without odd gyrations -> DONE!
32. Put on & take off socks without bracing against counter or wall -> DONE!
33. Reach body parts more easily for hygiene -> DONE!
34. Tie shoes, cut toenails without strain -> DONE!
35. Get into my overstuffed chair without half falling into it -> DONE!
36. Get out of my overstuffed chair without having to do a legs-up-in-the-air-and-down-fast routine to get leverage -> DONE!
37. Not spend quite so much time in my overstuffed chair! -> DONE!
38. Have a REASON to put a napkin in my lap when I eat -> DONE!
39. Reach the trunk release in my car (near the floor) without getting out of the car -> DONE!
40. Reach the gas tank open lever in my car without getting out of the car -> DONE!
41. Enjoy a fortune in a fortune cookie without eating the cookie (does it still count?) -> DONE!
42. Not mind multiple trips up and down stairs 'cuz I forgot something (this happens more often as I get older! - God's plan for exercise among seniors!) -> DONE!
43. Wear my favorite sport shirt from a few years ago when I was not quite so fat -> DONE! ACTUALLY, IT’S NOW TOO BIG!!!!!
44. Be one of those people who sips water all day (gosh, they used to annoy me; now I wanna be one!) -> DONE!
45. be one of those people who forget to eat a meal (I never did trust them, now I am one!) -> DONE!
46. Be one of those people who politely says "no, thanks" (and means it!) when offered a junk food "treat" (I never trusted them, either...) -> DONE!
47. Learn to enjoy "comfort walks," "comfort music," "comfort books" instead of comfort food -> DONE!
48. Save money on food, spend some on clothes, donate some to charity - DONE!
49. Get a home exercise machine and use it regularly -- DONE! And I am truly amazed I’ve been using it on a regular basis for a year!!!
50. Wear my cell phone on my belt without the antenna jabbing me in the belly - DONE!
51. Have a size Large shirt be too big for me!!! - DONE! (I’ve even found some ‘mediums’ that were too big!!!)
52. Have to adjust my watchband to make it smaller - DONE (twice)!
53. Have my partnership ring get too big - DONE! (Can't have a "wedding" ring, except in Massachusetts...)
54. Have someone fail to recognize me due to weight loss - DONE!
55. Go shopping and find all the clothes I want are only available in sizes TOO LARGE for me! -> DONE!
56. Get in/out of the car without the steering wheel being in my way -> DONE
57. Reach down into the under-seat storage bin in the car without getting out of the car -> DONE
58. Dare to wear a Krispy Kreme hat - DONE
59. Have a stranger not believe I was ever fat -> DONE!!!
60. Get better gas mileage ‘cuz I don’t weigh the car down -> DONE!!!!!!!!!!!!
61. Eat a salad instead of dessert and ENJOY IT!!! -> DONE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
62. Try on a small size pair of gym shorts - and have them be TOO BIG for me! -> DONE
63. Squeeze through tight spaces without sucking in my stomach and bumping into things -> DONE
64. Wear a smaller size and weigh less than my 30-year partner -> DONE!
65. Wrap a hotel-size towel around my waist -> DONE!
66. Go on a ten day vacation – and lose weight! -> DONE!!!
67. Have someone refer to me as a “little person” -> DONE!
68. Get on a crowded elevator and know I’m not the one that’ll overload it! -> DONE!
69. Go shopping without fear of strangers looking critical at what’s in my grocery cart. -> DONE!
70. Have it feel good again to get up and walk fast. -> DONE!

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Phil Darby / LAP RNY Dr. Callery 09/27/04........|Max:280+|Min:±155|Now:±175|